First-look review: Scott Premium road shoes

There are eight models in Scott’s road shoe range that differ in weight, materials and the kind of fit they offer. The Premium road shoe sits at the top of the range and is purpose-built for racing.

As a high performance shoe, the Premium offers everything that you’d expect from a stiff carbon sole, light but highly supportive uppers, and the latest reel and cable system from Boa.

Scott has exploited its experience with carbon to create the sole of the Premium road shoe. High modulus HMX carbon fibre is used with a layup that has been optimised to maximise stiffness at the front of the shoe to support the pedal cleat. In contrast, Scott’s engineers introduced some torsional flex at the rear of the sole, reportedly to reduce the risk of overuse injuries.

The shoes offer Scott’s low volume “Race Fit”. True to its word, the Premium shoes are a close fit best suited to narrow feet. I found the length of these shoes to be a little shorter compared to other brands and as a consequence, my feet felt a little cramped in these shoes. Buyers might want to consider going up a size for the Premium road shoe.

The Premium shoes utilise Boa’s new IP-10 closure which I described recently. In brief, the spool winds and unwinds on a fine ratchet but it has a quick release mechanism that allows it to unwind freely. Just pop the spool and the shoes are easy to remove.

In this instance, two IP-10 spools are used for closing and securing the Premium road shoes. The spool ratchets in perfect increments that allow fine yet meaningful adjustments to be made with ease. In practice, once set, I never had to fiddle with the spools. My only complaint is that the white dials were quick to get grubby.

Scott uses a combination of microfiber and nylon mesh to construct the uppers. The material is thin and light, yet remarkably stiff and highly breathable. Adding to the airflow is a large vent in the front of the sole, ensuring that my feet were never at risk of overheating. Once cooler weather arrives, overshoes will become a necessity.

The pair of size 44 shoes sent for review weighed 568g with the inners. Scott supplies a pair of its “Ergo Logic” inners with the shoes that allow different density pads to be used for the arch and metatarsal support. It’s just a matter of peeling the pad off its Velcro anchor.

I spent a week riding in the Premium shoes and as mentioned above, my only difficulty was that the shoes were a little short for my feet. There was plenty of stiffness and support on offer with a neutral last that never forced my feet into an unnatural position. Indeed, I enjoyed all the ankle movement I needed in these shoes.

There are two colour choices for the Premium road shoes: white/red (as reviewed) and white/green, both in a glossy finish. At present there are no plans to bring the shoes to Australia but other markets will find them at their local Scott stockist.